


Our Dream

by darkjaden825698



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: F/M, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Lovers, Insanity, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-04 08:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14015964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkjaden825698/pseuds/darkjaden825698
Summary: Zarc and Ray share a dream, a dream to one day meet in the finals for the title of World Duel Champion. And, well, they succeed. It just doesn't happen to be in the way they expected.A story detailing the events prior to Arc-V, including the nature of the relationship between Zarc and Ray, and the events leading up to and including the destruction of the Original Dimension.This fic was written for ZarcRay Week 2018





	1. Captive

At times, it feels like I’m a captive in my own soul. A prisoner inside an empty shell, forced to wander in endless darkness for an eternity or two.

And yet, at times it feels like there’s a light. A warmth, a blinding ray, shining into the cage of my spirit, beckoning me to freedom.

I chase it. I chase the light, but each step I take towards it, it seems to fade, bringing me closer and closer to despair, surrounding me in darkness.

It feels like a dream.

Or perhaps a nightmare.

Eventually, I stop running.

\---

“Zarc, are you even awake?” Her voice, shrill, but full of warmth and kindness. My eyelids slowly slide open, a rush of fluorescent light filling my pupils. I quickly squeeze them shut again. I blink one eye open and allow it to adjust to the light, then slowly allow the other one to unfurl.

I quickly take in my surroundings. Desks, chairs, a chalkboard. A classroom. I must have dozed off during class again. Man, Ray’s going to have my head for this. “Sorry,” I murmur, wiping the sleep from the crusts of my eyes. “What were you saying?”

She scoffs at me and rolls her eyes. She looks pissed, yet still she radiates beauty. Her maroon hair is tied back in pigtails with her signature hair clips. She brushes a few stray strands of her orchid colored highlights out of her face. But, they immediately fall back into her face, stubborn as she is. I huff a small laugh at this, which only serves to irritate her more. Giving me the stink eye, she furiously blows the hair back up, where it only stays for a second or two before falling back down. I’m busting out laughing at this point. Ray is not as amused as I am, though. She slams her arms down on my desk, prompting me to jump back in my seat.

“Zarc,” she starts. Her voice is short, but filled with genuine concern. “You really need to start taking your studies more seriously. What happens if you don’t make it to graduation?”

“Relax,” I say, leaning back in my chair and propping my feet up on the desk. “If everything goes according to plan, I won’t even  _ need _ to graduate high school.”

“Oh yeah?” Ray says, eyes narrowed into a scowl. “And what plan is that, exactly?”

“I’m gonna be a pro duelist,” I beam.

That really sets her off. I swear, I can see the blood boiling through her skin. “A pro duelist, Zarc? Really? When have you  _ ever _ demonstrated the skills necessary to even compete in the  _ minor leagues _ , much less the  _ pros _ ? Zarc, I don’t even think you understand the  _ rules _ to this game. Do you even know that chains resolve in reverse order?”

“Yeah,” I interrupt. “Because you just told me.”

I probably shouldn’t have said anything, because the next thing I know Ray’s open palm connects with my face, and I’m sent tumbling down to the floor, knocking over my chair and desk in the process. “Oww,” I grimace, rubbing the sore red spot on my cheek.

“Pro duelist,” Ray scoffs. “Yeah, right. You couldn’t duel your way out of a paper bag. You know, sometimes, I’m sorry I even made friends with you.”

And in that moment, I make myself a promise. I promise myself that I will prove her wrong. I’ll become a pro duelist, no, I’ll become the greatest pro duelist she’s ever seen.

I stand up, and look at her. I’m a few inches taller than her, so my head is angled downward just slightly. She glares up at me with a fire in her eyes. Then, she closes them, tilts her head to the side, and curves her lips into a smirk.

“You know what, Zarc?” she says. “I hope you do become a pro duelist.”

“Oh yeah?” I say, my own lips twisting into a grin. “And why’s that?”

She huffs. “Because.” She opens her eyes and gazes directly into mine. The fires in her eyes are still there, but they’re different now. Less anger, and more...determination. “I’m going to become a pro duelist, too.”

“Then I’ll look forward to battling you someday,” I say.

“As will I.”

And at that moment, I become imprisoned by my own burning desire. I become a captive of fate, burdened by a promise I swear to keep.

By any means necessary.

“Hey,” I say, breaking the strangely electric air between us to look around the classroom. “Now that I think about it, where is everybody?”

Ray scowls at me again, and whacks me on the head with her notebook. “That’s what I was trying to tell you, dumbass. School ended twenty minutes ago.”

“Really?” I say, cocking an eyebrow and glancing out the window. I see a mass of students, all wandering out of the school and into the city. “Huh, I guess so.” I turn to face her again. Her smoldering expression has softened, but only slightly.

She sighs. “Yeah, I’ve been trying to wake you up, but it was almost as if you’d slipped into a coma. You’re such a heavy sleeper, Zarc.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I say, but I’m not sure that’s what it is. I think I was having a dream. A strange one, too. Though, I guess all dreams are kind of strange, aren’t they? But this one, it was bizarre. I couldn’t see any pictures, it wasn’t the usual movie reel I usually get. It was just some kind of feeling, an emotion I can’t really describe. For a second, I consider telling Ray about it, but I don’t think I could find the words to describe it.

All I know is that is wasn’t a very restful sleep.

\---

Ray and I walk home together. We don’t live super close to each other, but I love going over to her house after school. Her dad is a scientist, a duel scientist, and he always has such cool theories and inventions. As dorky as it sounds, I honestly love just sitting around and picking his brain. He’s working on this system called “Real Solid Vision.” People use it for home decorating and realistic advertisements and the like. It’s like holograms but with solid mass. I keep thinking about how cool it would be to use it in Duels, like the Solid Vision holograms we already use.

“You okay, Zarc?” Ray asks me on the way home. “You’re kinda spacey today.”

“Y-yeah,” I stutter, shaking myself out of my own thoughts. “Just thinking.”

“About what?”

I contemplate for a moment. Honestly, my thoughts are all over the place today. First the weird dream, then my sudden declaration that I wanted to be a pro duelist, and now thinking about Ray’s dad’s invention. Honestly, where did that sudden declaration even come from? Do I even want to be a pro duelist? Part of me definitely does, but another part of me feels like going professional will only ruin the fun of dueling for me. I would hate to feel trapped in a profession I no longer enjoy.

I don’t know, maybe there’s a way I can change that.

“Just...stuff, I guess,” I finally respond.

“What  _ kind _ of stuff, Zarc?” Ray says, clearly annoyed.

“I dunno,” I mutter. “Dueling, I guess.”

Ray chuckles. “Typical Zarc, only got his mind on one thing.”

I smirk. “Shut up, you’re no different.”

“At least I take my dueling seriously.”

“Hey! I take my dueling plenty seriously!”

“Zarc, you once lost a duel because you activated My Body As a Shield to protect a Baby Dragon.”

“I didn’t want you to hurt him!”

“He was in Defense mode, for Ra’s sake!”

We laugh for a bit, and then we arrive at Ray’s house. It’s this big building with tall glass windows and a crooked awning where her dad parks the car. It feels really retro-modern, I guess. The house is also connected to this huge greenhouse-like area where Ray’s dad does a lot of his research work. I like to go there sometimes because he likes to let a bunch of plants grow there. I don’t think even half of them are for research. He just likes flowers.

Ray’s dad is a really gentle man. He’s always polite to me when I come home with Ray, even though I can tell he doesn’t like me all that much. I don’t think it’s that he dislikes me or anything, it’s just that I’m hanging out with his daughter, and he doesn’t think I’m a good influence on her. Which is fair.

Ray and I are chilling in her room, when suddenly I remember my pro duelist moment from earlier today. “Ray,” I say. “Can you teach me to become a better duelist?”

Ray looks at me, shocked at my sudden outburst. “I...sure,” she says.

“Let’s have a duel right now!” I’m excited now. I mean it, I’m stoked. I have this grand vision in the back of my head, of me winning the World Duel Championship. Delusions of grandeur, I’m sure, but the thought is enough to drive me forward.

Ray and I set up outside. I strap my duel disk onto my left wrist. A seemingly permanent grin is spread across my face. I’m so hype.

“You ready?” she asks.

“As I’ll ever be.”

“I’m not going to go easy on you,” she says. “I’m your  _ sensei _ now.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The duel disk on my wrist springs to life. Its LCD screen lights up, the colorful, bold-faced word flashing on the screen.

**“Duel!”** ****


	2. Seasons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A year later, Zarc and Ray continue their duel training, but something goes terribly wrong.

The seasons seem to change so quickly. It’s already been a year since Zarc’s and my high school graduation. Spring is already here, and soon it will be summer. I’ve always hated summer, believe it or not. Sure, being off from school is nice, I guess, but the weather is always too hot. Which means I can’t duel outside.

During the summer I get more time for dueling, theoretically. But since I have to walk all the way over to the community center just to not die of heat stroke every time I draw a card, really it just about evens out.

Zarc doesn’t care. Zarc would play a duel on the sun itself if he were challenged to. He’s improving a lot, that one. He’s learning to let go of his emotions when it comes to the cards. We did this by me attacking his monsters repeatedly, while he was forced to do nothing else but set monsters and pass. Honestly, I think it broke him a little bit, but eventually he was able to take it. He’s just gotta learn that in a duel, you’re going to lose some monsters. That’s just how the game works.

That’s not to say I’m heartless when it comes to my cards; of course not. My deck was a gift from my father on graduation, and it hasn’t lost me a single match yet. But the cards are special to me, not just because they win matches, but because of all the memories I’ve shared with them. Whenever I look at my cards, I see all of the matches I’ve had with Zarc, I see my father, meticulously planning and seeking out cards that he thought would be the perfect fit for me. 

I see my mother in these cards.

I don’t remember much about her. She died when I was really young. But I still feel things when I think of her, like sense memories. The smell of lilacs, a cool spring breeze, the sound of her lullabies as she rocks me to sleep.

They’re all such happy memories. I can’t remember her face, but I can remember those few things. I feel her in these cards. It’s like, in a way, she’s still with me.

I think Zarc has a similar feeling when he looks at his cards. That’s why it was so hard for him to let them be destroyed. I see him wince every time I send one of his cards to the Graveyard. It’s like he feels the cards’ pain.

But that’s ridiculous. Cards can’t feel pain. They’re just cards.

And yet...I kind of find the thought soothing. Not that they feel pain, but that they feel...anything. Like these cards are just as human as I am, as Zarc is. I think that’s what Zarc thinks, too.

And I think that’s why we’re so close.

I call him up at 6AM. He answers the phone groggily. “Hello?”

“Morning sleepyhead,” I say. “Ready for training?”

He groans, and then the line clicks. I scoff. That bastard hung up on me. I call him back right away.

“I’m up, I’m up,” he answers.

“Good. Meet me at the community center at 6:30 sharp.”

Another groan on the other end of the line.

“Don’t be late.”

The line clicks off.

\---

If there’s one thing I like about the summer, it’s early summer mornings, before the sun rises, when the grass is moist from a thin layer of dew, and the air is cool and calm. I’m wearing running gear, so I go for a light jog before reaching the community center. Before dawn is the only chance I get during the summer to work out, so I take advantage of it.

When I arrive at the community center, Zarc is already there, surprisingly. He usually arrives five minutes late, wearing a grumpy, sleepy expression and his pajamas. Today, however, he’s smiling wide, and wearing actual clothes! A pair of beige cargo shorts and a green tank top. It’s not much, but it’s better than training in his PJs.

“You look chipper this morning,” I say, coming to a halt in front of him and pausing to catch my breath.

I always jog before our morning training sessions, so this isn’t a surprise to him. “Yeah,” he says.

“Why’s that?” I straighten my back and stretch upwards. Then I tilt my torso from side to side, willing my muscles to elongate, releasing the tension from my jog.

Zarc just smiles at me. “You’ll see.”

I chuckle. “Oh I will, will I?”

He nods, flashing me that same old goofy grin that always makes my heart melt. You’d be hard pressed to get me to admit it, but I think I’m actually a bit sweet on him. He’s just so innocent and pure. The way he loves his cards, and the way he loves dueling and making people smile. Honestly, I’m surprised he doesn’t have a girlfriend already.

But Zarc has always been single. Ever since we met back in primary school, he’s never had a relationship. I’d gone through a couple boyfriends in high school, but none of them lasted very long. Zarc never got jealous or anything, which I was always happy about. In fact, he and most of my ex-boyfriends have always gotten along.

Oh gods, maybe he’s gay.

I push that thought aside, and we enter the community center.

It’s still dark. The building officially opens at 7, but I’ve known the owner of the place for years, so he lets us a little bit early. Zarc and I spend so much time here over the summer, that he’s considered giving us free memberships. He never does, though, and I don’t complain. It’s not a huge place, just two party rooms, two duel arenas, and a pool, so the place doesn’t see an absurd amount of traffic. I don’t mind helping out however I can.

We make our way to the gym. It’s this large, open space with a divider in the middle. You can play just about anything in this gym. The floor has a hologram projector underneath it, and you can set it to display just about anything: a basketball court, a football field, a baseball diamond, and yes, a dueling field.

Granted, you don’t really need much for a dueling field, just a large square with two places for the players to stand, and enough space in between for the holograms to form. But this community center decided to spend some of the extra cash that it got from me and Zarc on some special customizations. The duel field now even shows the zones of the board on the floor, and by paying extra, they even got some cool customizable backgrounds. You can even set it to recognize Field Spells and change the background of the field accordingly. It’s pretty high-tech stuff.

And my dad helped design it.

In fact, my dad is the one who donated the system to the center. It’s the prototype of the ARC System he’s been working on. That’s the new name for his Real Solid Vision project. It stands for Augmented Reality Combat. It can’t produce things much more complex than a couple different fields and some nets yet, but it’s got its place. Honesty, it’s a pretty cool system. Zarc was pumped when he first saw it.

“You ready, Zarc?” I say as I punch in the code on the terminal to bring up the duel field.

“As I’ll ever be.”

I smirk and roll my eyes. “You always say that.”

He grins at me, then readies himself for the duel, taking his place at the far end of the court. He’s still wearing that goofy grin that makes me laugh, but his eyes are filled with determination. It’s truly a sight to behold. As if I could fall even  _ more _ in love with him.

**“Duel!”**

“Why don’t you take the first move,  _ sensei?” _ He elongates the word  _ sensei _ , as if using the word both sarcastically and seriously at the same time. That suave little shit. I can’t help but smile at him.

“Your loss,  _ onion boy _ ,” I say, taunting him in the same tone of voice.

“Hey,” he laughs. “For the last time, my hair does not look like an onion!”

“Leave your talking to the cards, onionhead. It’s my turn.” I draw my opening hand. Not a bad turnout, if I do say so myself.

“I summon Floral Rhapsody Limstella in attack mode!” 

As I place the card down on my disk, the floor beneath me starts to hum, and an image of my monster appears in front of me. She’s a fair-skinned young maiden with long, dark violet hair, wearing a dress made up of red roses and azaleas. Her stats flash in front of her on a holographic scoreboard. (Level 4, ATK/1400 DEF/800)

“Limstella’s effect activates! When she’s Normal Summoned, I can add one Lunar Skyhawk monster from my deck to my hand.”

I swipe through the cards in my deck on my duel disk’s screen, finding the one I’m looking for and tapping it to confirm my choice. The card protrudes itself from my deck, and I grab it and pull it out. My deck then shuffles itself.

“Now I can activate the effect of the Lunar Skyhawk Crimson Feather that I just added to my hand! If I control a Floral Rhapsody monster, I can Special Summon it from my hand!”

The monster appears in front of me, a large bird with jet black feathers and snow-white eyes, with hints of a dark, blood red in her wings. (Level 3, ATK/800, DEF/1000)

“Then I’ll place one card face down and end my turn.”

“All right, Ray!” Zarc cheers. “Excellent opening move! You’ve got me all excited!”

I roll my eyes, but find myself smiling anyway.

“Okay, here goes! My turn! I draw!” Zarc dramatically swings his arm out as he draws for his turn. Always the performer, that one.

Zarc studies his hand for a moment, before twisting his smile into a mischievous smirk. The kid has no poker face.

“All right, here we go! I summon Talkback Dragon in attack position!”

Zarc always loved dragons. As long as I’ve known him, he’s always had a medieval fantasy-themed deck: dragons, warriors, magicians, you name it. His deck’s always been a hodge-podge of Arthurian mythos.

The dragon that appears in front of Zarc is just a hair taller than him, with green scales, a yellow underbelly, and rounded horns on top of its head. It’s like it’s indecisive between being menacing and being cute, and succeeding at neither. (Level 4, ATK/ 1700 DEF/1300)

“Battle! Talkback Dragon attacks your Crimson Feather!”

Talkback Dragon bursts into a sprint, heading straight towards my Crimson Feather. I smirk. “Reckless as always, my young pupil. Reverse card open! Trap Card: Moonlight Sonata!”

“Damn,” Zarc curses under his breath.

“When Moonlight Sonata is activated, if I control a Floral Rhapsody and a Lunar Skyhawk monster, I can negate your attack, and your monster loses 1000 ATK points!”

Zarc scoffs. Soft piano music plays throughout the stadium. His monster stops dead in its tracks, shrinking to a fraction of its size as its ATK points lowers from 1700 to 700.

“I’ll play one card face down and end my turn.”

“Then I’ll pick up where you left off! My turn! Draw!” I exaggerate my hand moments as I draw, just like Zarc. I guess he’s rubbing off on me. “I tribute my two monsters in order to summon this: Artemisia, the Budding Sky Diva!”

My two monsters become encased in a budding flower, disappearing in a flurry of petals. In their place stands my Ace Monster, a goddess who towers over the field, long silver hair cascading down her back and across her pure white wings, golden brown skin with a dress made of lilies, gripping a silver sword with an engraving etched into the blade: “ _ astra inclinant, sed non obligant _ ,” the stars incline us, they do not bind us. (Level 7, ATK/2400 DEF/2000)

“Whoa,” Zarc mutters, gazing up at my monster in astonishment. “She’s incredible, Ray.”

I don’t believe this. He’s standing in the face of my deck’s most powerful creature,  _ which I managed to summon on the second turn, mind you _ , and he’s looking at her like a kid at a carnival. He’s about to lose this duel, and  _ that’s _ all he can think of to say?

“Artemisia’s effect activates!” I shout. “I can discard my entire hand, and for each Floral Rhapsody or Lunar Skyhawk monster I discard, Artemis gains an extra attack!”

“What?!” Zarc exclaims.

“There were four cards in my hand; two of them were Floral Rhapsody cards, and one was a Lunar Skyhawk.”

“So Artemisia gains three extra attacks? That means she can attack…” Zarc trails off. He brings his right hand up to his face and counts on his fingers.

“Four attacks, Zarc. She gets four attacks this turn.”

“Right, I was getting there.”

I let out a sigh. “Artemisia! Attack his Talkback Dragon!”

“Reverse card open! I activate the trap: Smoking Mirrors!”

Zarc’s card flips open, and suddenly Artemisia is surrounded by a circle of mirrors.

“Wh-what?” I remark.

“This turn, none of my monsters can be destroyed by battle, and you take any battle damage that I would have taken!”

“You’re kidding!”

Artemisia thrusts her sword through one of the mirrors, shattering it into an array of tiny fragments, which all come flying at me.

“Ahh!” Instinctively, I raise my arms in front of my face to protect it, but the glass simply passes through me. Oh right, sometimes I forget this is a hologram. A chime dings as my LP drop from 4000 to 2300.

I smirk. “Not bad, kid. Not bad at all.”

“Stop calling me kid,” he yells back. “We’re the same age! In fact, I think I’m older than you by a few months!”

I can’t help but chuckle. He was always good at getting people to laugh, either intentionally or not.

“I guess, since I can’t do anything else, I’ll end my turn.”

“‘Bout time!” Zarc remarks, drawing his card. He grins down at the card he drew. I see him whisper something under his breath. I think he’s speaking to the card. “I activate the Spell Card: Dragon’s Beckoning!”

The arena begins to shake. Whoa, wait, is this common? Is this supposed to be happening?

“By Tributing one Dragon-type monster on my field, I can Special Summon a Level 5 or higher Dragon-type monster from my hand!”

The ground beneath us crumbles, breaking apart. Zarc’s Talkback Dragon stumbles, struggling to keep its footing, before eventually succumbing to the dark, endless abyss. Deep inside the pit, I see a pair of glowing eyes. Red and green. Dichromatic.

“Now,” Zarc says, his voice a mix between intimidating and excited. “Please put your hands together for tonight’s main attraction. The rare dragon with different colored eyes. Ladies and gentlemen,  _ Odd-Eyes Dragon! _ ”

Suddenly, the eyes in the pit grow bigger. The rumbling continues, and I find myself slightly worried that there’s a glitch in the system, or that there’s an  _ actual _ earthquake. Suddenly, a red blur streaks in front of my vision. I actually gasp I’m so startled. Then, the shaking stops, the ground closes up, and the dragon lands in front of me. It looks as though it’s wearing armor, or maybe it’s just that its scales are so thick and defined. Its neck is long and a dull violet color, with sharp, armored scales protruding out near its head. Its chest is blue and gleaming like a gemstone.

Its eyes are dichromatic. (Level 7, ATK/2500 DEF/2000)

Odd-Eyes Dragon. Zarc’s favorite card an ace monster. He’d never been able to summon it before. I kept telling him it was because his deck was too slow. If he wanted to focus on an Ace Monster that you need to Tribute Summon, you should build your deck around spamming the field with as many monsters as possible, as quickly as possible, so you can get your ace out quicker. It looks like he decided to find a different way.

Staring it in the face, I can’t help but smile. This must be how Zarc felt when I summoned Artemisia.

“When summoned using Dragon’s Beckoning, my Odd-Eyes will return to my Deck during the End Phase, but until then, he gains an extra 1000 ATK points!”

Odd-Eyes’ nostrils flare as his ATK raises to 3500. Much more than my Artemisia.

“Battle! My Odd-Eyes attack your Artemisia!”

Odd-Eyes charges at my goddess, who raises her sword in defense. The dragon’s teeth break right through it, and the sword crumbles in her hands. Odd-Eyes then swings its tail at her, and she disappears in a shatter. My LP drop to 1200.

“Now, Odd-Eyes’ effect activates! When it destroys a Level 5 or higher monster in battle, half of the ATK points of the monster it destroyed are deducted from your LP!”

With a smile, I let out a huff. He actually managed to defeat me. Half of Artemisia’s ATK points. That’s 1200 exactly.

It’s almost as if he planned this.

Odd-Eyes shoots a blast of fire from its mouth, combusting at my feet. The resulting shockwaves send me flying.

Wait, what? Shockwaves? But this is a hologram.

I land at the edge of the court as my back hits the wall. Zarc calls out my name and rushes over to me. I smile at him before losing consciousness.

Soon after that, the leaves begin to change colors.


	3. Obsession

Ray’s dad doesn’t let me see her anymore. Not since that one duel we had before fall struck. Apparently she had a bad concussion. Honestly, though, I don’t know why he blames me. It’s not my fault his system started to go all haywire during our duel. Ray tells me to let it go, though. She still texts me sometimes, when she thinks her dad isn’t watching.

The thing about Leo Akaba is, though: he’s always watching.

Apparently, he’s caught her once or twice and forced her to delete my number from her phone. Luckily for me, Ray has a photographic memory. She remembers my number easier than she remembers her own birthday. I texted her on her birthday this year. That was how Leo found out we were still talking. He took her phone away for a week. Which also meant she couldn’t duel for a week, since our duel disks double as our phones. That must have been heartbreaking for her. Ray loves dueling more than anything, she may even love dueling more than I do. Or at the very least, the same amount.

We found out that Leo was tracking Ray’s incoming texts. Geez, can you say overbearing? Though, we also found that he wasn’t tracking her outgoing ones, for whatever reason. Therefore we established this secret rule that I wasn’t allowed to text her back. It works, though. She texts me sometimes, just to let me know she’s still thinking about me. Sometimes she texts me with a time and a place and I’ll go and meet up with her. It’s exhilarating, sneaking off to see her without her dad knowing. We’ve carefully constructed a way to remain friends while avoiding Leo’s eye.

And then, around a year later, we stop being friends. We become something more.

I think I can well and truly say that Ray Akaba is the one girl I have ever loved. I’ve been in love with her likely since I met her back in primary school. She was quiet, and nobody seemed to want to talk to her. Or maybe they did, but they didn’t know what to talk about with her. That’s what I thought at the time, anyway. I spent the next two months trying to find out something about her that could spark a conversation, but to no avail. Eventually I gave up and just decided to ask her.

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Huh?” She looked up at me. She’d been reading a book in the courtyard, something with words I couldn’t understand yet.

“What’s your favorite color? Mine’s green. Or red! I can’t decide.”

She sized me up and down, wearing a confused and slightly annoyed expression on her face. “Pink, I guess.”

“Is that why your hair is that color?” I said, pointing to her maroon pigtails.

“My hair is purple, not pink.”

“Same difference.”

“It’s really not.”

“Well, maybe you can teach me the difference sometime.” I sat down next to her. She scooched away. “My name’s Zarc, what’s yours?”

She hesitated for a moment, side-eyeing me over her book. “Ray,” she said slowly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ray.”

“You too,” she said, then returned her attention to her book.

She ignored me the rest of the day.

\---

Tuesday, 11:57PM. I’m waiting outside the arcade. It’s where Ray texted me to meet up. It’s raining, so I have my hood up. I usually have my hood up anyway. I’ve made a habit of keeping it up to hide my face just in case Ray’s text turns out to be a trap and it’s actually Leo on his way over here to meet me. I’m pretty sure it’s not, this time, though. We usually meet up in places Leo would never think to find Ray; the Arcade, a Men’s Warehouse, basically anywhere that isn’t a library or a duel field.

Gods, I miss dueling Ray.

“Zarc,” she says, just barely above a whisper. I turn around and see her rounding the corner, wearing a red-violet hoodie with the hood pulled up. She keeps turning her head to make sure the coast is clear, then she motions her head towards the alley. I follow her back there.

Under the shelter of the roof sticking out from the building next to us, we remove our hoods. Within seconds, Ray’s in my arms, locking lips with mine. This is my favorite part of our meetups.

“You know, I wish we could do this in a place that’s a bit more romantic,” I say.

“What, kissing me in a back alley in the pouring rain isn’t romantic enough for me?”

“I mean,” I start. “Ray, you’re 21 years old. You shouldn’t have to listen to everything your father says.”

“Zarc, what are you saying?”

I take a deep breath. “Ray, move in with me.”

“ _ Excuse me? _ ”

“You heard me.”

Ray is silent for a moment. The only sounds I can hear are the heavy rain against the roof above us, and the sound of the highway in the distance.

I feel her lips close in around mine. Her lips feel like flower petals, soft, delicate. They taste like strawberries.

“No,” she says finally, breaking the kiss.

“No?”

“No, I’m not gonna move in with you.”

“Why not?”

She kisses me again. “Because. Don’t you like sneaking out in the dead of night to kiss me in a dark alley?”

I chuckle. “Babe, any time I’m kissing you is a wonderful experience, don’t get me wrong. But don’t you ever wish we could just, you know...be normal?”

“Zarc, there isn’t a single thing about you and I that’s normal.”

I laugh. “I guess that’s true.”

And she’s kissing me again. And despite the coldness in the air and the rain leaking through the roof and dampening my hair, I feel warm and dry. Everything in the world feels right when I kiss her.

I break the kiss. “Hey, you wanna see something cool?”

“What is it?”

I’m beaming. I can barely keep my excitement under wraps. I pull my duel disk out from my pocket and pull out my deck. Careful to keep my cards shielded from the rain, I reach into my Extra Deck and pull out a card. It’s the only card in my Extra Deck, currently, but I love it all the same.

“Check it out,” I say, and hold the card up so she can feast her eyes on its beauty.

Ray narrows her eyes as she tries to read the card text with the minimal light. “Dark...Rebellion...Xyz Dragon? You’re an Xyz user now?”

“I guess you could say that,” I say. “It’s the only one I have right now.”

“Where did you get this card?” she asks. “A card this good has to be pretty rare and expensive, I’ve never even heard of this one.”

“It’s kinda funny, actually,” I say. “I just kind of came across it.”

“Like it was just lying on the ground?”

“More like sticking out from beneath a rock, but yeah.”

“If it was underneath a rock, why doesn’t it look beat up or scratched even?”

I shrug. “Dunno. I guess I’m just lucky.”

“Lucky, yeah,” she mutters under her breath.

She snatches the card from my hand. I protest, but she shoves her palm in my face to deter me. Ray gazes intently at the card. “Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon…” she murmurs. Ray stares deeply at the card for almost a minute. She reads its effect, studies its artwork. “Xyz Dragon?”

“Yeah? What of it?”

“Why an Xyz Dragon?”

“Uhh, cuz it’s a Dragon-type Xyz monster, duh?” And Ray is supposed to be the smart one?

“I know that, you dingus,” she snaps. “I just mean, why is  _ this _ card the only one I’ve seen that reiterates its summoning type in its name.”

“Don’t ask me, I just found the thing.”

“If there’s an Xyz Dragon, does this mean that there’s a Synchro Dragon and a Fusion Dragon as well?”

My eyes grow wide. “Maybe,” I say. I can barely contain my excitement. A Synchro Dragon, a Fusion Dragon, and an Xyz Dragon? If I could get my hands on all three of them…

Well, I think I might be the greatest duelist on the face of the planet.

“Uh oh, I know that look,” Ray says.

“What look?”

“That look,” he reiterates. “That look you get when you get a big idea.”

“Guilty,” I say, not even trying to hide the excitement on my face anymore.

Ray sighs. “Just be careful, okay?”

“Of course,” I say. “When have you ever known me to not be careful?”

She glances up at me with worry in her eyes, but she doesn’t say anything.

\---

For months after that meeting, I’m obsessed with finding the other two Dragons. If they even exist. I scour pawn shops and card retailers in several cities, searching for anybody who might have the Synchro and Fusion dragons. All my efforts turn up fruitless, however. Nobody I talk to has even heard of the Synchro and Fusion Dragons. In fact, they even look surprised when I show them Dark Rebellion. Several pawn shop owners assess it, thinking it has to be a fake, but every single one of them has assured me it’s the real thing.

Broken and defeated, I finally return home, unfortunately empty handed. It’s raining again, and it reminds me of Ray. She and I haven’t really talked all that much since that day. She texted me a couple times in the following weeks to meet up, like we usually did. But I wasn’t in Paradise City. I was out, looking for the remaining cards. Of course, I couldn’t respond to her texts, so I couldn’t tell her that. I ended up missing three meetups, and then her texts stopped coming.

I feel bad. Ray must have been heartbroken when I didn’t show up. She’s likely given up on me. I wish there was a way I could make it up to her, but I can’t even text her without her dad at my throat.

Gods, I miss her.

I’m completely and utterly alone.

I have no girlfriend, and no Synchro and Fusion Dragons to show for all of my efforts. Gods, I’m a loser.

But my depression only serves to drive me forward.

I’ll become a pro duelist, just like I promised that day back in high school, just like she promised me as well. We’ll meet again on the battlefield one day. And, with the Synchro and Fusion Dragons in my hand, I’ll defeat her, and prove my love to her.

It’s an honorable goal. That’s what I tell myself. It’s how I get to sleep at night.

But I know what she would say if she heard me say that. She’d tell me I’m obsessed with these cards, that I need to let it go.

She might even beg me to take her back. Now that’s a thought.

I have to find those cards. I must. I have to show her that this wasn’t all for nothing.

But in the end, I know it’s my own obsessive nature that drove her away.


	4. Immortality

I haven’t heard from Zarc in months. I think of him every time I draw a card. It hurts. Every card I pull, every duel I play. It all reminds me of him. Eventually I stop dueling altogether.

That doesn’t last long. My mom’s cards keep calling to me.

I know they’re not really my mom’s cards. In all likelihood, they were made after she died anyway. But they still remind me of her, so I’ve taken to calling them that.

It’s been a year since I last saw Zarc. In that time, my father has all but perfected the ARC System. Loathe though he is to admit it, it was actually Zarc that helped him along with it. After our duel, the one that ended in my concussion, the one where somehow, the duel field created real shockwaves that shook the ground and knocked me unconscious, he started using Duel Monsters cards as test subjects. Once he started using cards to test the Solid Vision, he realized how compatible the two systems were. 

Pretty soon, he actually created a Duel Monsters hologram that had real physical mass. It wasn’t what you would expect, though. At first they basically just formed the basic shapes of the monsters, with minimal movement animation. It felt more like a cheap trick than an actual program. Hell, the regular Solid Vision holograms we’d been using for years looked more realistic than this, albeit without any actual mass. Hazy Flame Sphinx only weighed about a tenth of what it should weigh, and it disappeared as soon as it collided with another object. 

Over time though, it’s improved. Now monsters have the weight and detail that you would expect, and they don’t disappear unless they’re destroyed or the system is turned off. He calls this version of the project ARC-II.

Now that ARC-II is around, I’ve picked up dueling again. It’s incredible to feel the strength behind each card. Every time I summon Artemisia, it honest to Ra sends chills down my spine. My father is still working on the ARC System, though. He wants to make sure it’s absolutely perfect before he unveils it to the public.

I practice with my dad every day, to help him test out the ARC system. Dueling helps me keep my mind off things. But once we’re done, when I’m alone, my mind wanders. I can’t help it. I can’t help but think: what if I had just said yes? What if I had moved in with Zarc when he asked me? Would he still be here?

Those thoughts have gradually receded throughout the seasons. Soon, I rarely think of him at all.

\---

“Ray,” my father calls from the lab.

“Yeah, dad?” I call back as I head out the back door.

I walk up to my father, standing in front of his hologram projector, the device he uses to test the ARC system. “Check this out,” he says, smiling down at me.

He places a card on the projector, a Baby Dragon card. My mind immediately goes to Zarc. I briefly wonder what he’s up to, how he’s doing, before shaking the thoughts away and focusing on what my father wanted to show me.

The hologram projector roars to life, and a Baby Dragon materializes in front of me. It greets me with a smile and a small chirp. It’s cute. But it’s no different than it usually is. I fail to understand what my father is trying to show me. “What about it, dad?” I ask.

“Say hi to it.”

“Say hi...to a hologram?”

“Just do it.”

So I shrug, and I wave at the little dragon. It smiles and waves back at me. My eyes widen in surprise. I’ve never seen a baby dragon do  _ that _ before. The Baby Dragon mimics my facial emote, which only evokes even more surprise from me.

“How is it doing that?” I ask. “Is it some kind of advanced AI?”

My father shakes his head, but he’s smiling proudly. “No,” he says. “It just started doing that. All on its own.”

“On its own?”

It’s incredible. The hologram has started moving and emoting all on its own. Almost as if it’s a sentient being. Fascinated, I reach out and touch the Baby Dragon’s snout. It leans into my touch, and I gasp as its skin touches mine.  _ Skin _ . It feels cold and smooth, like a newly hatched dragon without its scales. It feels, well, like it’s supposed to.

“That’s new, too, isn’t it?” I asks.

“What is?”

“The way it feels.”

The Baby Dragon is now nuzzling my hand and purring like a kitten. It’s supremely adorable.

“Ah, yes, that is new. That’s a feature of ARC-III. I suppose you haven’t exactly been touching the holograms in our duels, so you wouldn’t have noticed.”

“Real Solid Vision,” I mutter. “Imagine how this could change Dueling.”

“That’s the goal,” my dad says, powering down the ARC system’s mainframe. The dragon waves good-bye to me before dissolving into the air.

“It’s almost perfect,” he says, settling in at the computer next to the machine.

“Almost?” I say.

He nods. “There are still a few things…”

“Like what?”

My father doesn’t answer. He simply continues typing his findings into the computer.

“Dad, what is it?”

He looks up from the computer. “The Duel Monsters,” he says. “They’re not just holograms. They’re real.”

And my dad has officially lost it. I think he sees the concerned look in my eyes, because he immediately tries to justify himself.

“No, really!” he says. “Duel Monsters cards have souls.”

_ Souls. _ It sounds crazy, and I know I can’t believe him. But part of me can’t help but believe it. It makes sense, why I feel my mother in my cards, why Zarc felt such an attachment to his monsters.

Zarc.

I start to wonder, did Zarc know there were souls in Duel Monsters cards? Is that why he looked so hurt any time one of his monsters was destroyed?

Wherever you are, Zarc, I hope you’re okay.

\---

With the revelation that cards have souls, I start taking my dueling a lot more seriously. It no longer hurts to draw a card. Instead, I’m filled with a fire, an intense determination. I’m going to fulfill my promise to him, the promise we made back in high school.

_ “I’m going to be a pro duelist, too.” _

_ “Then I look forward to battling you someday.” _

_ “As do I.” _

We made an unspoken promise to each other back then, an oath that we would one day meet on the battlefield. Once I realize that, I make it my mission to make it to the pro leagues.

Because...Because I know that I’ll see him there. I just have a feeling.

“Gorgeous, isn’t it?”

The voice surprises me, thrusting me out of my own head. I whip my head around to see a man with short, dark hair wearing a well-tailored suit.

“What?” I ask.

“That trophy.”

I return my attention to my front and realize I’ve been staring at the World Duel Championship trophy. They always keep it on display in the arena, surrounded by plaques and pictures of previous champions. It’s the trophy they award to the winner of the World Duel Cup, though they always take this one back after the ceremony. The champion gets a replica with their name engraved on a plaque at the bottom.

“Are you here for the minor league tryouts?” the man asks.

I nod. I guess I was gazing at the trophy while trying to work of the nerve to step into the arena proper.

Suddenly he’s standing beside me. I hadn’t seen him move, but I suppose my thoughts are preoccupied. His hands are in his pockets and he’s wearing a smile upon his face. It’s filled with both pride and sadness. I follow his gaze and see him looking at a picture of one of the former champs.

“You know,” he says. “They say that duelists never die.”

“What do you mean?” I ask him. And where did that even come from?

He motions towards the picture he’s looking at. A tan boy with wild black hair and a smile as wide as his face stands holding the trophy. You can see the pride and happiness on his face.

“I remember that duel,” the man says. “Narukami Shin vs Boyd Ross. I was there, in the audience. Couldn’t have been any older than the champ himself. It was a fierce battle, and everybody thought Narukami had it in the bag. He was much older and much more experienced than this Ross kid. But then the boy pulled an amazing come from behind victory. Urgent Tuning into Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier. Narukami never stood a chance.”

I look up at the man. He stands a good four inches taller than me, and has a straight, angled jawline. His eyes are closed now, and he takes a deep breath.

“Duels live on forever. Long after the last card is played. And these duelists,” he waves his arm across the display case. “These champions are especially immortal. So long as this world keeps turning, their names will live on forever.”

Immortal. The champions become immortal. Part of me wonders if there’s any truth to that.

“What’s your name, kid?” the man asks. His voice is hollow, like he’s trying to swallow a lump in his throat.

“Ray Akaba,” I tell him. “You?”

“Ray Akaba,” he repeats, ignoring my question. He pulls a handkerchief out of his shirt pocket and dabs at his damp eyes. “I’ll be rooting for you, kid. I hope to see that name in this case someday.”

“Me, too,” I say.

The man places a firm supportive hand on my shoulder, squeezes a bit, and then turns towards the exit.

For some reason, that man’s speech gives me the courage I need to step into the arena and audition for the minor leagues. It’s one small step towards my end goal: a duel with Zarc, and for the championship. I won’t be satisfied any other way.

Meet me at the top, Zarc.

Let’s become immortal together.


	5. Fragment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, I'm pretty sure, the longest chapter in this fic. So enjoy. I really liked writing this one.

Duel Monsters have souls. I’ve known this since I was little. I can hear their spirits calling out to me. That’s part of why I love Dueling so much. These guys want to be played, they enjoy fierce competition amongst friends. It just always hurt me to see them get destroyed in battle. Ray thinks she’s the one who broke me out of that, with her weird classical conditioning method of training, but really, it was the cards. They spoke to me, told me it was okay, that it was all part of the fun.

And I don’t know. I guess that really spoke to me.

I used to think that the monsters were in pain when they got destroyed, and maybe they are. But I think it’s comparable to a pin prick, as opposed to a knife through the chest. A slap on the wrists instead of a kick to the groin. So now it doesn’t bother me as much.

I find Clear Wing in a poor industrial town, where the air is smoke and the streets are rubble. The trees are made of steel and concrete. There, I meet a group of kids who can’t even afford duel disks. I even consider giving them mine until I realize I can’t exactly afford a replacement one, myself. 

Instead, I duel with them on the pavement. Old-fashioned style. The kids really like my Odd-Eyes. They say it reminds them of “the man’s” card. I don’t know what they mean, until a man rides up to us on a motorcycle, blowing dust and granite onto our cards. I stand up to protest, but the looks in the kids’ eyes tell me not to.

“Hey Shinji,” the man says to one of the kids, removing his helmet and shaking the sweat from his hair, purple with sky blue highlights, spikes jetting out in every which direction. I’m surprised his hair kept its form under that helmet. “What did I tell you about talking to strangers?”

“He’s nice, though, Dart! He’s been dueling with us all afternoon!” One of the kids stands up to address the man on the motorcycle. He has the same wild blue and purple hair as the man on the motorcycle. Definitely related. Probably brothers.

“A Duelist, huh?” the man, Dart, climbs off his bike and knocks the kickstand out. The bike settles, and Dart places his helmet on the seat. “What’s your name, Duelist?” He extends his hand for a handshake.

“Zarc,” I say, taking his hand in mine.

“Dart Weber,” he responds. “This here’s my little brother Shinji.” He nods his head towards the boy with the same hair, as if I couldn’t figure it out just by looking at them. “Thanks for keeping my brother and his friends entertained while I was at work.”

“No problem,” I say.

“What brings you to our little slice of the world, friend?”

“I’m looking for something,” I say. “A card.”

“And you came here?” Dart lets out a bellowing laugh. “Son, you’re not gonna find many rare cards here. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re poor as dirt around these parts.”

I shrug. “I figure it can’t hurt to cover my bases.”

“Not bad thinking, I suppose.”

Dart invites me inside for dinner. I’m about to decline to continue my search elsewhere, when I remember what one of the kids said earlier. That my Odd-Eyes looks like “the man’s” card. I wonder if Dart is “the man” they were talking about.

So I follow Dart and the kids inside. Dart opens the fridge to pull out food to make, it doesn’t look like they have much food at all. I feel kind of bad for agreeing to stay for dinner.

“Are you sure there’s enough for me in there?” I ask. “I don’t mind sitting out. You guys clearly need it more than me.”

“Nonsense,” Dart says, throwing some meat on the stove. “The more the merrier, right, Shinji?”

“Right!” Shinji chimes in, beaming up at his big brother. Dart smiles back at him, and I can see the bond between those two. I wonder what happened to their parents. It looks like Dart is raising Shinji all by himself, and he can’t be much older than me.

The other kids all take their seats at the table. I can’t believe he feeds them all. Is he raising  _ all _ of these kids?

In the end, there’s more than enough meat to go around. Some kids are even able to go back for seconds. It makes me happy knowing these kids are getting enough to eat. I suddenly feel extremely privileged to have grown up back in Paradise City.

“So,” Dart says, swallowing his last piece of beef. “You say you’re looking for a card?”

“Yeah,” I say.

“What card you looking for exactly?”

“I’m not sure of its full name,” I say. Reaching into my bottom pocket, I pull out my duel disk and fumble through my cards. The kids all gasp in excitement at the sight of my disk. I have this intense urge to get them all one, but I know that’s not possible.

I flip through my deck and pull out two cards: Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion. I show them to Dart. “But I know it’s part of this set. I think, at least. A Dragon for each summoning method.”

Dart’s eyes widen at the sight of them. He hands the cards back to me, and I can feel a pulsation from within them.

“I think,” Dart says, getting up from the table and walking into the other room. My eyes follow him as he picks up something and wanders back into the kitchen. A duel disk. It’s an archaic one, likely an older model, but it’s a duel disk nonetheless. It has actual physical slots for the cards, as opposed to the newer, sleeker models with its solid-vision card zones. He opens the slot for his extra deck and pulls out a card. “I think I might have the card you’re looking for.” He holds it in his hand for a second, before turning it out for us all to see.

I almost drop my own cards in surprise. On the card, printed on top of the white background, is a picture of a dragon, white and green with translucent wings. Its name at the top reads “Clear Wing Synchro Dragon.”

“No way,” I say, standing up from my seat. “That’s it.”

Dart smirks and returns the card to his extra deck. I can feel my dragons crying out to me.

“But,” I start. “That card is one of a kind. It must be worth a fortune. Why hold onto it?”

“Because,” Dart huffs. “This card is worth more to me than money.” Dart returns to the other room and sets his duel disk back down on the desk. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you have it.”

I don’t want to protest. I don’t want to take that card away from him, especially after he and the kids have been so nice to me. But I need that card. It compels me. “Why not?” I ask him.

“Because,” he says, taking a deep breath. “It represents a dream.”

“A dream?”

Dart takes a seat in the other room, swirling around the desk chair and sitting in it, leaning his arms on the back on the chair. He nods at the couch, and me and the kids crowd around Dart.

“When I was eighteen,” he says. “Shinji’s and my parents died. He was two. Since then, it’s been my responsibility to take care of him. I got a job at the factory, working 12-hour shifts six days a week. It’s hell, but it puts food on the table. When I was younger, I used to love dueling, but nowadays, I rarely get any time to duel. But I’m not going to give up dueling.” He sighs. “Using that card, I plan to enter some local tournaments. The prize money isn’t much, but it will net me recognition. If I can top enough tournaments here...Maybe I can hit the big leagues. Maybe I can make her proud.”

I look down at my own cards, Odd-Eyes Dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. Make her proud. That’s my goal, too, isn’t it?

“Who’s ‘her?’” I ask.

Dart smiles. It’s a kind of sad, melancholic smile. Definitely the kind of smile you get when you think about happy memories with someone you no longer see. I know it all too well.

Dart stands up. “You’re more than welcome to crash on the couch for tonight,” he says. “But I don’t think I can afford to feed another mouth more than one night.”

He walks out of the room, and I bolt up from the couch. “Dart, duel me.”

Dart stops dead in his tracks. He turns around to face me. “What?”

“That’s my dream, too. I want to become the World Duel Champion. I want to make somebody proud, too.”

A smile creeps onto Dart’s face, this time a sly, cocky smile.

“If I win,” I continue. “You’ll give me Clear Wing, and I’ll take him all the way to the top. It’ll be like a little piece of you will be up there with me. I think that will make your person proud, too.”

“And if  _ I _ win?” he asks.

“I’ll give you these.” I hold out Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion for him to see. These cards, they’re pieces of my soul. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing them.

But I’m also not planning to lose them.

“You know what, kid?” Dart says. He walks back over to the desk, picking up the duel disk and fastening it to his wrist. “I think I’ll take you up on that.”

\---

I feel a piece of me break off when I hold it, as if it’s taking part of my soul. It can have it, honestly. At this point I think it needs it more than I do. Maybe I’m just imagining things, but when I hold this card in my hands…

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. After painfully long expeditions all across the world, I’ve finally found it. Holding it in my hands fills me with energy, a twisted sense of pride that brings me one step closer to accomplishing my goal.

I will find the last remaining dragon, and I will become the World Duel Champion. I’ll bring fun back to pro dueling, bring smiles to the audience.

Deep within me, I feel Dark Rebellion’s heartbeat. It wants to find the others as much as I do. I can feel the heartbeat within Odd-Eyes as well, a calmer, happier sense of gladness, like its been reunited with a long lost friend.

I think these dragons were made for each other, as weird as that sounds. But feeling their happiness makes me feel happy. And now that I’ve finally found Clear Wing, I can feel its contentment as well, its own joy at being placed inside my deck, where its other two friends rest. Honestly, thinking about it brings a tear to my eye.

I have a sense that my collection is almost complete. Let’s see, what are the summoning methods again? There’s Tribute Summoning, that’s my Odd-Eyes. Then Xyz, Dark Rebellion, and Synchro, my newfound Clear Wing. That just leaves...Fusion right? Or maybe Ritual? Both of them, maybe? Does Ritual summoning even count?

My journey takes me to a port town near the coast of the Eastern Sea. There, I hear word of a powerful card wielded by the owner of an elite boarding school for Duelists, on an island just offshore. I’ve heard of it, of course. The famed Duel Academy. It’s been around since the beginning of time, it seems. Okay, probably not, but it’s been there for as long as  _ I  _ can remember. I remember really wanting to go there as a kid, but not being able to afford it.

I wonder what kind of card it is, this powerful card that the owner of Duel Academy has. I hope that it’s the missing piece in my collection, but I know better than to get my hopes up. Though, now that I know that it is a complete set, and not just a strange naming decision for Dark Rebellion, I’m more confident than ever that the last fragment will show itself to me. I can feel it in the heartbeat of my cards. (I was really tempted to put heart of the cards here imsorry)

I hitch a ride on a boat over to the Academy, and the place just leaves me in awe. It’s  _ huge _ . No wonder it cost so much to attend here. I come upon a large building with blue pillars out front. The Obelisk Blue dormitory. I’ve read about the history and culture of this school, mostly to imagine I was actually attending. The student body is split up into three dorms, Osiris Red, Ra Yellow, and Obelisk Blue, with Blue being made up of the top students at the school. Just thinking about all the strong duelists inside gets my blood pumping.

But they’re not who I’m here for. I’m here for the owner, and his rare and powerful card. So I wander over to the school’s main building, and stumble my way around. It’s like a castle in here, with so many twisting corridors and hallways. But eventually I find the main office.

“Hello?” I say, knocking on the open door as I enter. The secretary behind the desk looks up and notices me.

“What can I do for you?” she says flatly, returning her attention to the computer screen in front of her.

“Um, I’d like to speak to the person who runs this place? I think his name is Tyler Giada?”

“Her,” the secretary corrects me, without looking up from her screen. “Tyler is her family name.”

“Oh, sorry. Do you know where I could speak with her?”

The secretary sighs, and picks up the phone sitting to her right. She dials a number and waits a moment, then inhales to speak into the receiver. “Hi, ma’am, there’s somebody here to see you.” She waits a moment, listening to the person on the other end of the line. “No, I don’t know who he is. Some onion-headed kid. He just says he wants to meet with you, ma’am. Yes. Okay, I’ll send him on his way.”

“Wait, what? But why?”

The secretary hangs up the phone and gives me a stern, agitated look. “Listen, kid. The headmistress doesn’t just meet with any random kid who walks in off the street. If you want to meet with her, you’re going to have to have a good reason.”

“But I do have a good reason!”

“Oh yeah?” The secretary leans back and smiles smugly. “And what would that reason be?”

I freeze. I guess I can’t just say I want to check out the headmistress’s rare card. She probably gets tons of people just waiting to catch a glimpse of it. So instead, I say the first thing that pops into my mind.

“I’m here to challenge her to a duel.”

The secretary bursts out laughing. “Listen kid,” she guffaws. “The headmistress isn’t going to take on some scrawny bedwetter like you. She’s got more important things to tend to, like running a damn school.” She stops laughing, and locks eyes with me. “Get lost, kid, before I have security escort you out.”

I glower at her for a second, before rolling my eyes and stepping back out of the office.

I’m at a loss now. I need to get in to see the headmistress. I need to see if that rare card she has is the one I’m looking for.

Taking a deep breath as I exit the building, I duck down behind some bushes. I don’t exactly know what I hope to accomplish with this. Maybe I’ll stake out until the headmistress comes out of the building to go home and I’ll confront her then? Who knows. I’ve never been a very forward thinker.

“What are you doing?” comes a voice from beside me. It’s so sudden and unexpected that I nearly jump.

I turn and see a young woman, dressed in blue garb. She must belong to the Obelisk Blue dorm, which means she’s an incredibly powerful duelist.

“Uhhhh,” I stutter. I have no answer to that. I can’t exactly say that I’m stalking the headmistress.

“If you’re trying to sneak a peek, you know you’ll have better luck in the back of Obelisk Blue Girls Dorm. That’s where the bathhouse is.”

I feel my face getting hot. “N-no, that’s uh, that’s not…”

The girl chuckles. Her voice is at that awkward stage where it’s halfway between girlish and womanly. She looks to be about sixteen, with long dark hair. “I’m, uh...I’m actually looking for your headmaster.”

“They turned you away, didn’t they?”

“Y-yeah.”

“What do you want to talk to the headmistress about?”

“I heard she has a rare and powerful card.”

“That she does.”

A glimmer of hope flashes before my eyes. “Do you know what it is?”

The girl shakes her head. “She’s never shown me. She doesn’t show it to anybody, not unless she’s really struggling in a duel. And she hasn’t struggled in a duel since before I was even born.”

I sigh. So much for that.

“You still wanna talk to her?” I nod. “I might be able to help you with that.”

“Really? How?”

“The headmistress is my aunt.”

My eyes widen, a grin stretching across my face. “Really? That’s awesome.”

She smiles and nods. “Let’s go.”

The girl takes off walking and I stumble to my feel. “R-right,” I say, and chase after her.

“I’m Zarc, by the way,” I say as we walk into the school building. She weaves around corners like she owns the place, knowing exactly where each hall leads and what route to take.

“Guinevere,” she replies. “Guinevere Tyler.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say.

We walk into the office, and the secretary glowers at me as we lock eyes. “Kid, I told you to leave. Now get out before I call security.”

“It’s okay, Claudia,” says Guinevere. “He’s with me.”

Claudia looks us over, shifting her eyes between the two us before giving an exasperated sigh. “Fine, follow me.”

She stands up and leads us into the back of the office, taking us through a door in the back that leads to a wide, open room with a back wall made entirely of windows, and a single solitary desk near the back middle of the room. There’s a woman at the desk, writing rhythmically on a stack of papers. She scribbles something onto one, then moves it to another stack of papers, and repeats the process. She hardly notices us coming into the room.

Apparently, she does, though, because without looking up from her papers, she says, “What do you want?”

Her voice is stern and full of authority. I feel like I’m back in high school, about to get chewed out by one of my teachers. I suppose, in a way, that’s kind of true.

“Your niece is here to see you, headmistress,” Claudia says. “And she’s brought some...boy along with her.”

I bite my tongue to avoid calling her out. I’m not a kid, I’m 22 years old for Ra’s sake. Though, I suppose that might be best not to draw attention to, considering I walked in here with the headmistress’s teenage niece.

Giada looks up at us, sighs, and puts her pen down. She gets up from the desk and slaps a forced smile on her face. She walks over to us and bends down to give Guinevere a hug.

“Hi, Aunt Giada,” she says.

“Hello, my sweet. How are your classes going?”

“They’re going well. How are the twins?”

“They’re getting by. It’s hard to take care of them  _ and _ run a successful school, but their nanny takes good care of them.”

Giada straightens back up and turns to look at me. “And what, pray tell, can I do for you, young man?”

Her presence intimidates me. With her staring me down like this, I almost chicken out and say it was a mistake. But I don’t. I can’t. I have to find out what her rare card is. I swallow hard and take a deep breath. “I’m interested in your rumored rare card.”

She scoffs. “Of course you are.” She turns and walks back to her desk. “Claudia, you can escort them out of here. I’m done talking.”

“Wait!” I call.

Giada looks up at me from her desk and scowls. “What?”

“I challenge you to a duel.”

Giada holds back a laugh. “You? Duel me? Please, I would wipe the floor with you in three turns or less.”

I reach into my pocket and pull out my duel disk, taking out the three cards I need to convince her to duel me. I flash them at her. “Look. See these three cards? They’re part of a collection. A collection that’s near completion. If you were to have these, you would undoubtedly be the greatest duelist the world has ever seen.”

She glances up at the cards in my hand, and I see a spark in her eyes before she returns her gaze to her papers, trying to hide her reaction.

“If my hunch is correct, then you have the last one, don’t you?” Giada doesn’t look up. “And so, if we wager these cards in a duel, then the winner would a have a complete set.”

Giada looks up at me from above the rim of her glasses. “Fine, kid. You’ve got yourself a duel.”

Claudia looks on at us in disbelief. I do a quick victory cheer.

“Don’t celebrate now, kid,” Giada says, standing up from her desk and grabbing her duel disk from a drawer. “You’re not going to have those cards much longer.”

“We’ll see about that,” I snicker.

We set up in the courtyard, and are surrounded by a mass of students, come to see what the commotion is. They clear a space for our duel to take place. Giada stares at me with fervor in her eyes. I return her intensity. She readies her duel disk.

“You ready, kid?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

**“Duel!”**

It’s a fierce battle. Headmistresses has some really strong skills. She plays a Fusion Plants deck that really has me going. It’s not until I summon Dark Rebellion that things really start to swing my way.

She laughs to herself when she sees it. “Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon,” she remarks to no one in particular. “Such a strong, beautiful card.” She turns her gaze upon me. “I can’t wait to add it to my deck.”

I smirk. “Are you sure about that?”

The duel continues. I just about have her on the ropes. I’m confident in my victory when suddenly it occurs to me.

I haven’t seen her dragon yet.

It’s her turn now. She activates an effect from her Graveyard. By banishing her Flytrap Pluto from her graveyard, she can summon another two copies of it from her deck. Suddenly, her barren field has two monsters on it. She gets a look in her eye. I know what’s coming next.

“I activate the Spell Card: Polymerization!” she shouts. “I fuse my two Flytrap Plutos on the field to form a terrifying new monster!”

Here it comes.

"Two beautiful flowers with an insect-alluring fragrance! Now become one, and from the hell beneath your petals, give birth to a new terror! Fusion Summon! Appear! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs. Level 8! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"

Thunder cracks around us. Some of the students look scared. Her dragon appears. A long, green body like a snake, with violet wings and red orbs all over its body. It’s beautiful. It’s terrifying. It’s perfect. I can’t help but grin. (Level 8, ATK/2800 DEF/2000)

I find it strange that it’s stronger than my other dragons, but I don’t even care. It’s gorgeous. It’s disastrous. I have to make it mine.

But I don’t get that chance.

“Starving Venom’s Effect Activates!” Giada cries. “When its Special Summoned, I can add the ATK of one of your Special Summoned Monsters to it! I target your Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!”

“Clear Wing’s Effect Activates!” I shout in response. “When a Level 5 or higher Monster activates its effect, Clear Wing destroys it, and then it gains ATK equal to the Monster it destroyed!”

Clear Wing’s burst breath collides with Starving Venom’s, eventually pushing it back and destroying the other dragon.

I did it. I’ve won. Starving Venom is mine!

Starving Venom disappears from the field, and Clear Wing’s attack raises to 5300.

“Starving Venom’s other Effect Activates!”

“What?!”

Giada smirks. “When Starving Venom is destroyed, it destroys all other Special Summoned Monsters on the field!”

“No!”

In a crash, all of my monsters, my three dragons, disappear from the field. My field is left barren and empty. I’m defenseless.

“Now,” Giada says in a calm voice. “I activate: Monster Reborn.”

“Damn it,” I curse.

“I resurrect Starving Venom from the grave! Appear again, my dragon!”

A swirling vortex appears on the ground. Starving Venom flies up from the vortex, and it closes up behind it.

“Let’s finish this,” Giada says. “Starving Venom attacks you directly!”

I collide with Starving Venom, and the remainder of my LP are wiped out.

I collapse to my knees. My three dragons fall off the face of my duel disk. I’m struggling to keep back my tears.

Giada walks over to me and kneels down in front of me. “A deal’s a deal, kid.” She snatches my dragons up, and walks off. The crowd dissipates. I see Guinevere linger for a moment, before turning away and returning in the direction of her dorm.

I feel my soul split in two.

\---

The sun sets, and I’m still in the same spot, on my knees, holding back tears. The island is like a ghost town after dark. I’ve lost. All of my efforts, for nothing. My dragons. My Odd-Eyes. They’re gone.

No.

I can’t take this. I have to do something about it. I have to get my dragons back.

Even if I have to take them by force.

I wait until the sun is down completely, and the world is encased in the dark of night. I sneak into the main building behind the exiting Claudia, and find my way to the office, getting lost a couple times along the way. Finally, I reach the door to the office. It’s locked, of course. I slide one of my cards through the crack in the door and use it to jiggle the lock open. It’s successful, but my Koumori Dragon card is unplayable now. I give it a soft kiss and retire the poor thing to my back pocket.

I make my way to the back of the office, careful to avoid any video cameras. I use the same lock picking trick on Giada’s office with a Decoy Dragon this time. Two cards lost in this endeavor. Remorse pounds through me, but I know I won’t feel guilty once my dragons are back in my hands. I creep over to her desk and open the drawer she kept her duel disk in. It’s still there. I’m honestly surprised she kept it in such an obvious place. I leaf through her cards, and I find what I’ve been looking for, my dragons.

I linger on Starving Venom for a moment. A rush of energy courses through me as I look at it. And, just as my Clear Wing before, I feel something chip away at me when I hold it.

I stuff the four cards in my deck, and quickly make my exit.

\---

It isn’t until the next morning, when I’m back on the mainland, that my crime catches up to me. I notice uniformed officers patrolling the city, and some of them are holding up posters with my likeness on them. Damn, they really work fast. I make my way to the outskirts of town before I’m spotted.

“Wait.” The voice sounds familiar.

I turn around. Guinevere.

“What?” I say, guarded.

She looks me over from head to toe, and lets out a sigh. “I trusted you, Zarc.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “But these dragons...They’re important to me.”

“And that’s why I can understand taking yours back. It was unfair of my aunt to take something that was that connected with your spirit as a duelist.” She meets me with shaking eyes. “But auntie’s...that dragon…”

I half turn away from Guinevere. “I need this card. It...when I hold it in my hands...I feel something in my soul. I think...I think this card needs me, too.”

Guinevere blinks away tears. She locks eyes with me, and pulls out her phone. Without breaking eye contact, she places the receiver to her ear. “I’d like to report an anonymous tip on the robbery at Duel Academy? Yeah, I just saw the thief. He was in the far corner of town, trying to escape. I think he’s headed West. Uh huh. Yeah. You’re welcome. Bring that criminal to justice.”

Her voice is completely deadpan. She hangs up the phone and lowers it from her ear. She never stops staring into my eyes the entire time. “Go,” she says.

“Thank you.” I smile, and head East out of town.

Now that I have my dragons, my collection complete, I only have one objective in mind, one destination. My journey is over, now it’s time to return home.

And become the next Champion.


	6. Surprise

I honestly wonder for a brief moment if my eyes are failing me, that this is just some illusion my mind has put in front of me as some bizarre method of coping with loss. But then I catch his eye, and he turns and smiles at me.

“Ray!” he calls out, waving to me and rushing forward to meet me. I stand motionless, frozen in place as he approaches. “Ray! My gods, you look great! It’s been a while, huh? It’s so good to--”

I cut him off with a full-force slap to the face. The smack echoes throughout the arena, and all of the other contestants turn to look at us.

“Ray,” Zarc mutters, rubbing the sore spot on his cheek.

“You thick-headed, self-centered, egotistical IDIOT!” I’m shouting now. Zarc’s eyes grow and tremble with regret. “Do you have any idea how long I waited around for you? I went to meet you  _ three times,  _ Zarc. Three. Fucking. Times. Each time I waited for an  _ hour _ before giving up on you. You just disappeared! Without even saying good-bye! Do you even know how much that hurt me? It’s been two years, Zarc! Two damn years! Not a call, a text, a Ra damned carrier pigeon. I thought you were dead! I thought something horrible had happened to you and I’d never find out what because you just  _ left _ without saying a  _ fucking word! _ ”

“I’m sorry, Ray…” he murmurs.

“Oh, you’re  _ sorry?! _ Is  _ sorry _ going to make up for the countless number of sleepless nights I had, staying up worrying about you? Is  _ sorry _ going to make up for the fact that I still feel a dull ache in my heart every time I draw a damn card? No, Zarc. It’s not. So go take your  _ sorry _ ’s to someone who gives a shit!”

I’m fuming. Zarc looks hurt. But I don’t care. It’s payback for everything he’s done to me. I’m so fucking angry right now that my vision starts to blur. Zarc stares at the ground, and I honestly think for a second that he’s going to cry. I would feel bad, but I can’t forget what he put me through.

“You know,” he mumbles, “I never stopped thinking about you.”

“What?” My voice is softer now, a bit more gentle. It still seethes with rage, though.

“In the entire two years I was gone, I never once stopped thinking of you.”

He doesn’t meet my eyes. He just turns and walks away, merging in with the rest of the applicants.

Despite everything that’s happened, I’m surprised to feel that a little part of me is still happy to see him.

\---

The regional playoffs go swimmingly. I don’t end up facing Zarc, which I’m actually relieved about. I’m still peeved at him, and I don’t want to taint our fated rematch with ill blood. Plus, like I said before, I won’t be satisfied unless we’re dueling for the title. I refuse to duel him until then. Hopefully the universe agrees with me.

Both Zarc and I advance to the second round. So long as we don’t end up dueling each other, It means both of us are basically guaranteed a spot in the next level up. The top four players in each region move on to the real deal, and I’m confident that both of us are skilled enough to make it.

Especially if Zarc has been up to what I think he’s been up to the last two years.

The last time I saw Zarc, he showed me a new card he’d found, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. I think I said something that planted an idea in his head, a possibility that there were other dragons out there. I think he may have left to follow that lead.

And I think he may have found them.

I don’t watch any of Zarc’s matches. I’m too focused on my own. Of course, I flatten the competition. My mother’s cards have only failed me once.

Pretty soon, the final four are announced. Among them are me and Zarc, thankfully, and two other boys whose names I honestly can’t be bothered to remember. One of them played a Pyro-Machine deck, though, which was pretty cool.

Once the true Minor League tournament kicks off, I decide to indulge and watch Zarc duel. It’s honestly incredible watching him. He’s improved so much, and it’s not just because of the new cards he’s found, and I was right, he has found them. Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon. Together with his Odd-Eyes Dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, he claims to have a full set. (Ritual Summoning is chopped liver, I guess.) I’ve never seen a crowd so happy, so energetic, as when Zarc duels.

The ARC System is in its fourth stage of development, ARC-IV. The arena for the finals is now equipped with the most cutting-edge machine in Real Solid Vision technology. Monsters with solid mass, that move and feel the way they should. It’s truly an incredible experience. Dueling has never been more fun.

Zarc likes to ride on top of his Dragons when he duels. It’s cute, honestly. He seems to really care about them. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt now that Zarc recognizes the souls within Duel Monsters cards. I see him talking to his cards sometimes during duels. I find that cute, too.

It’s painfully drab and predictable how quickly I find myself falling back in love with him. All I have to do is see that smile of his, and I’m back in high school, watching him out of the corner of my eye with a smile on my face, watching him doze off in the middle of class.

I don’t know what’s come over me.

I win my qualifying match. So does Zarc. With that, we both advance to the quarterfinals. Zarc’s duel is up next. I meet my father in the audience to watch. He watches Zarc take the court with a look of disdain, a look that changes dramatically when he sees me. He looks proud.

“That’s my girl!” he says, picking me up and twirling me around in a hug.

“Thanks, dad!” I laugh, hugging him back.

“You did great out there, sweetie.”

“I know.”

He ruffles my hair, and then turns his attention back to the duel progressing in front of us. The look of disdain returns to his face.

“I see Zarc is back,” he says at last.

“Yeah,” I say. It’s hard to think of another response to that. My father doesn’t exactly like Zarc. Thinks he’s reckless, amongst some other choice words. And even though I’m still a little mad at him, it’s always made me sad to know how my dad feels about him. Especially when Zarc and I were dating. He would shit talk him sometimes, just out of the blue. He would bring him up and talk about how shitty of a person he was, and proclaim how glad he is that Zarc is out of my life, that I deserve much better.

I don’t have the heart to tell him, even now, what really went down.

Zarc goes undefeated until the final round. Unfortunately, I lose my match in the semifinals to the Pyro-Machine guy. It was insane. His Ignition Beast Volcannon took out my Artemisia with ease, and the rest of my Life Points with it. I make it to the final four, though, which means I could be scouted by a professional manager.

But then something completely unexpected happens.

It happens so quickly that it takes the entire audience a full minute to register the shock. The entire stadium has gone silent, save for the anguished screams of the Pyro-Machine duelist. In a final blow, Zarc’s monster knocked his opponent’s Ignition Beast Volcannon back into him, sending one of spike’s on the monster’s back piercing the player’s shoulder. Blood pours out of him, spraying everywhere. Zarc stands dumbfounded, looking on his defeated opponent with shock and concern plastered onto his face.

But then comes the cheer. A long voice. A whistle, followed by clapping. “Bravo!” he shouts. And that gets the entire audience going. They erupt in applause for Zarc, who just won the Minor League Championship.

I exchange a glance of concern with my father, and then hone in on Zarc. His face warps from genuine concern to a prideful, excited smile. He waves to the audience. The Pyro-Machine duelist gets wheeled out of the stadium on a stretcher, while the contest hosts come out to give Zarc his trophy.

I’m absolutely astonished, just completely in shock at what I just witnessed. My father is as well. As we exit the stadium, Zarc catches me. He calls out to get my attention.

“Ray! Ray, did you see me?!” he calls out, waving me down backstage after the match. He wears a bright, happy smile. It’s hard to believe it’s even the same man I saw out there. “Ray! Hey, Ray! I won!”

I don’t meet his eyes.

\---

Something is wrong with Zarc. These words race through my mind as we leave the stadium, and they persist, always at the forefront of my brain. Something is very wrong with Zarc. Since the Minor League Championships, he enters two other tournaments. He wins the championship in both of them. I don’t go to see him at either of them, but I read the papers. I hear about the injuries. He’s dueling much harsher than before. Much more violent.

It’s not like him at all.

I get scouted by a pro agency, and begin my career as a professional duelist. I mostly play in exhibition matches at first, but pretty soon I make a name for myself. My father says he’s proud of me. I try to feel proud of me too.

When I hear that Zarc has qualified for the World Duel Championship, I know I have to be in it as well. I have to put a stop to all of this violence and tragedy. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one who even sees it. Zarc does it because it gets a response from the audience, a positive one. They actually  _ enjoy _ his violent duels.

There are rumors that somebody even died after he was hospitalized dueling Zarc. Even that doesn’t seem to calm them down.

I ask my manager to pull some strings, to get me into the WDC. It takes some convincing, but finally, I get my letter of qualification. Sixteen duelists will be at the WDC. One will come out victorious. It will either be me, or Zarc.

And it’s going to be me.


	7. Trust

Just as I expect, Ray and I meet in the finals. She’s won her way through duel after duel to reach me. It couldn’t be more perfect.

She readies her duel disk. As do I.

“Are you ready, Ray?” I say.

“As I’ll ever be.”

I snicker. She’s stolen my line.

**“Duel!”**

As we draw our opening hands, I notice a look in her eyes. A look I can’t place. Disappointment? Anger?

Fear?

She pierces me with her gaze, staring daggers at my soul. I don’t know what that’s all about. There’s a fire buried in her pupils. It reminds me of the flames in her eyes when she declared she would become a pro duelist back in high school. But it’s different. Those flames were filled with determination. These flames...

All I can see is hatred.

“I’ll take the first move!” I say, scanning over my cards. Perfect, I already have Odd-Eyes in my hand. And soon enough, the other three will come to me.

“Sorry, Ray,” I shout. “But your fate has already been decided. I cannot lose this duel!”

She scoffs. “We’ll see about that,” she says. “I can’t afford to lose this duel, either.”

I have no idea what she means by that, but she misunderstands my words. I wasn’t saying that I  _ won’t _ lose this duel.

But that I can’t.

\---

As I raise my hand to tell my monster to attack, I notice something in Ray. She flinches. A look of pure terror envelopes her, her quivering eyes locked on my pointer finger. And then it all makes sense to me. She’s seen my duels. She can tell how violent I’ve gotten.

She thinks I’m going to hurt her.

“Ray,” I say calmly, lowering my hand. “Ray, I’m not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you.”

She blinks away tears. “Why should I believe you, Zarc? You hurt me every day for two straight years.”

That’s when it clicks for me.

Ray no longer trusts me.

“Ray…” I mutter. I take a deep breath. I have to win. I have to become champion. It’s been a good duel so far. Ray’s really kept my on my toes. It took all four of my dragons to take her down.

I’ve earned this win.

I feel something change within me when I look into Ray’s eyes, when I see that fear, that anger, that lack of trust.

And I realize that I no longer have anything left to lose.

Blinking away my own tears, I steady myself and raise my hand. With a deep breath, I shout my command. “Odd-Eyes Dragon. Attack Ray directly!”

Odd-Eyes glances back at me, as if asking if I’m sure this is how I want it to go down. I can feel its concern. I give it a nod, and Odd-Eyes returns its gaze to my opponent.

My dragon throws back its head, gathering its beam in its mouth.

_ So long, Ray. _

It unleashes a torrent of white light on Ray. She screams. After a second, there’s no more screaming. Her LP counter hits zero. The crowd erupts in applause. A man comes out to give me the trophy, while Ray is brought out of the stadium on a stretcher. She’s unconscious. I don’t bother to look if she’s breathing or not.

The blood rushing through my ears makes it hard for me to hear anything. The announcer excitedly pronounces me the World Duel Champion. The crowd applauds even louder. Somehow, I can hear Leo’s enraged voice over the audience. It’s all a muffled, jumbled mess. Suddenly, I feel a smile creep onto my face. I am the greatest duelist in the world. The crowd loves me. As the blood drains from my face, their voices become clearer.

They’re chanting my name.

My blood is boiling. Standing in the light of the stadium, with the crowd chanting my name, I feel something break in me, like when I first held each of my Dragons in hand. I feel my soul breaking in two. It hurts.

But I want more of it.

I want to hear the crowd, chanting my name for eternity.

I want to feel like this, this strangely pleasurable pain, forever.

“Is this the end?” I can’t control the words. They escape my mouth with a fervor and intensity unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. I’m shouting at the top of my lungs. “Is there no one left to fight me?”

The crowd continues to chant my name.

“I am not yet satisfied! I want to grow stronger...I want to fight more fiercely!”

The crowd breaks into a thunderous scream. I hear distinct voices shouting.

“We aren’t satisfied either!”

“Show us more amazing duels, Zarc!”

And suddenly they’re chanting again. “More! More! More! More!”

A devilish grin slithers onto my face.

“I love it!” I bellow. “Your words become power for my monsters!”

In my hands, my four dragons. I feel the people’s words coursing through them. They want more, too. They need more. More destruction. More pain. More despair. More.  _ More _ .  _ MORE _ .

“Your wishes make us strong!” I shout. “Strong enough to  _ destroy the world _ !”

My duel disk flares to life. “Yes. We’ll keep fighting, just as you wish!”

I slam my dragons onto the disk, and the ARC System roars to life. They appear once more. The audience cheers. They love my dragons. But they don’t cheer when my dragons unleash their burst breath on the stadium’s walls. Instead they scream in terror. The run. Their screams, they only give my dragons more power. They only give  _ me _ more power.

The people are running. I see Ray. She’s with her father, bruised and injured, but otherwise alive.

I’m not sure whether this pleases or angers me.

Suddenly, I realize I’ve been laughing. I can’t stop. It’s just so exciting. Everybody’s scared, but I’m having the time of my life. I have an unquenchable thirst, a lust for the crumbling of rubble, a craving for the terrified howling.

My dragons blow a hole in the ceiling and soar out of the stadium. I hear the destruction all around me. Buildings being blown to smithereens. Weapons being fired. The screams of men, women, children. It all fills me with an inexplicable sense of joy.

I still can’t stop laughing.

The dragons roar. They’re calling to me. I hear their feelings deep within my shattered soul.

“I see,” I say, recognizing their desires. “You aren’t satisfied yet? Neither am I.” The dragons hover over the ruined stadium. I open my arms to embrace their presence. “I will become one with you, body and mind, and achieve ultimate power!”

My hands feel their way to one of the cards in my deck. I pull it out. Astrograph Sorcerer. Yes. This is perfect. “Now,” I say, raising the card into the air, as if showing it to the heavens. “We will become one!”

The card in my hand glows, shining brighter and brighter. Astrograph Sorcerer appears from the card. 

It’s at this point that I realize: some of the rubble that my dragons knocked off when they destroyed the stadium landed on the ARC System. It hasn’t been running since then. My dragons. My sorcerer. I feel them, I give to them. A life for a life. My soul for theirs. I have made them real.

“Astrograph Magician, ruler of Spacetime,” I chant. The words feel natural to me, like a nursery rhyme locked in the back of my mind from childhood. I pull them out of some unknown space in my mind, as if they’ve always been there. “Use your unfathomable power to unite our wishes!”

The crumbled stadium fills with a harsh blue light. “Now, make us one! Now, we’ll become one!!”

A sphere of light shoots up from Astrograph’s scepter, and explodes into a mandala of colored light. One by one, my dragons fall into the light. Suddenly, I fall backwards, and disappear into the ground. 

Yet it feels like flying.

I become encased in a cage of white, and then it all goes blank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realize how short this chapter was. >.< It was supposed to be longer, but I am absolutely atrocious at duel writing. I may go back and write that as a separate fic some day, because I really wanted to have this intense duel filled with symbolism and foreshadowing, but I have to be in a specific mood for that kind of duel writing haha.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is my submission for ZarcRay week 2018, if you couldn't tell. I had been planning on writing a fic of this nature for a while now, and ZarcRay week just kind of gave me the inspiration I needed. Seeing the prompt list for the eight days of ZarcRay week gave me an idea. Rather than writing eight separate one-shots for each prompt, I decided to tell a story in eight chapters, with each chapter incorporating elements of each prompt/theme. Some of them work better than others, and the entire chapter doesn't necessarily revolve around the theme. But anyway, I hope you guys like it!
> 
> **Also:** I will still be working on Persona 5: Jailbreak, eventually. I will absolutely, definitely finish it at some point. I love those characters and the situation I've come up with too much to just forget about it. That said, I've been feeling extremely burnt out on it for a while. I think I just need to get back into the swing of things, but who knows how long that'll take. So it might be a while before you guys get another chapter of that. But I do have a couple other things in the works, so stay tuned. I might write another Pegoryu oneshot or something. But if you're reading this fic you're probably not interested in Persona 5: Jailbreak, so I'm rambling! Anyway, see you guys tomorrow with the second chapter.


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